Cat. No. 658-667
What Is the Shape of This Problem?
- Date:
- 1999
- Themes:
- Abstraction, Words
- Techniques:
- Lithography, Relief
- Description:
- Series of 9 letterpress diptychs, 5 with lithography
- Support:
- Smooth, wove Arches paper
- Dimensions:
- sheet (each): 12 x 17" (30.5 x 43.2 cm)
- Signature:
- "LB" right lower sheet (each), pencil.
- Publisher:
- Galerie Lelong, Paris,
Galerie Lelong, New York - Printer:
- SOLO Impression, New York
- Edition:
- 25; plus 14 A.P. (3 are isolated pairs of text-image diptychs), 4 P.P., 3 T.P., 2 H.C., 1 B.A.T.
- Impression:
- "AP 2" left lower sheet (each), pencil, unknown hand.
- Edition Information:
- In an unusual numbering system for the A.P.s, numbers 1-11 were given to complete sets, but numbers 12, 13, and 14 were given to isolated pairs of text-image diptychs, according to printer Judith Solodkin of SOLO Impression. Solodkin does not recall which specific diptychs were numbered 12, 13, and 14.
- Background:
- The text in this series was taken from Bourgeois's diary entries, spanning some forty years. The images are based on drawings created in the 1990s. Printer Judith Solodkin of SOLO Impression made photo-enlargements of the drawings and transferred them to letterpress plates.
- Installation Remarks:
- Each diptych in this series constitutes a single composition and must be exhibited in a vertical configuration as illustrated, or alternatively, with the text on top of the image. The diptychs in the series may be exhibited together or separately, and there is no required sequence.
- Curatorial Remarks:
- This series was reproduced on a set of note cards as a merchandise item. A tote bag merchandise item was made from no. 9.
- MoMA Credit Line:
- Gift of the artist
- MoMA Accession Number:
- 135.2000.1-10
- This Work in Other Collections:
- Graphische Sammlung ETH Zürich, Switzerland
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Tate Modern, London
© The Easton Foundation/VAGA at ARS, NY
From the series
View All-
What Is the Shape of This Problem?...
Only state
1999
-
The Telephone Call from the Slammer...
Component A: state II of II; component B: only state
1999
-
The Small Hours, no. 2 of 9, from the...
Components A and B: only state
1999
-
Repairs in the Sky, no. 3 of 9, from...
Components A and B: only state
1999
-
I Pick on Everyone, Dead or Alive...
Components A and B: only state
1999
-
Has the Day Invaded the Night, or Has the...
Component A: version 2, only state; component B: only state
1999
-
The Papillon, the Ray of Hope, no. 6...
Component A: state II of II; component B: only state
1999
-
The Hour Is Devoted to Revenge, no. 7...
Components A and B: only state
1999
-
To Unravel a Torment You Must Begin...
Component A: state II of II; component B: only state
1999
-
Art Is a Guaranty of Sanity, no. 9 of...
Components A and B: only state
1999
-
NOT IN MoMA'S COLLECTION
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NOT IN MoMA'S COLLECTION
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NOT IN MoMA'S COLLECTION
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NOT IN MoMA'S COLLECTION
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NOT IN MoMA'S COLLECTION
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NOT IN MoMA'S COLLECTION
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NOT IN MoMA'S COLLECTION
Louise Bourgeois,
What Is the Shape of This Problem?,
New York: Galerie Lelong, 1999Bourgeois's entire text for this series appears on the compositions cited below.
Title Sheet
What is the shape of this problem?
No. 1 of 9
The telephone call from the slammer
No. 2 of 9
The small hours
No. 3 of 9
Repairs in the sky
No. 4 of 9
I pick on everyone, dead or alive
No. 5 of 9
Has the day invaded the night, or has the night invaded the day?
No. 6 of 9
The papillon, the ray of hope.
No. 7 of 9
The hour is devoted to revenge
No. 8 of 9
To unravel a torment you must begin somewhere
No. 9 of 9
Art is a guaranty of sanity
